The regulation of emissions has become increasingly broader and stricter. More compounds are now covered and the amount of many compounds that can be released into the environment has decreased over time. This trend of rising national and state constraint on emissions has put increased pressure on numerous industries to control the release of compounds. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set the legal limit of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions to 10 tons per year (about 55 pounds per day) before control or capture technology is required. With growing unfavorable sentiment towards any potential negative effects on population health and the environment due to emissions of VOCs, it is likely that the emission of VOCs will be restricted further in the future. Such regulation would have an impact on producers that generate VOCs, such as the wine and beer industry that release VOCs as part of the fermentation process.
In general, manufacturers and producers recognize the need to limit the release of pollutants and ultimately desire to comply with national and state guidelines. However, conventional technology capable of controlling or capturing the release of pollutants is generally inefficient and expensive to operate. In addition, the resources required to retrofit existing facilities to meet emissions guidelines are largely cost-prohibitive. As such, manufacturers and producers are challenged with complying with emissions regulations while maintaining the profitability of their production processes. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have an efficient and cost-effective system for reducing target pollutants from emissions and, in particular, a system that be used as an economical option to retrofit existing production facilities to control emissions.